Fence rail with concealed fastener

ABSTRACT

A fence rail includes a detachable fastener cover that covers and conceals a fastener chamber. Through the use of a knuckle and a catch fastening system, moisture is prevented from entering the fastener chamber. The fastener chamber allows for securing pickets to the rail using a means for fastening as close to the top of the rail as possible thereby allowing for significant racking of the fence.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/754,863 filed on Apr. 6, 2010, which in turn is anonprovisional of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/166,852filed on Apr. 6, 2009, the entireties of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

This invention was not federally sponsored.

INVENTOR

Gary W. Ash

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the general field of fence rails, and morespecifically toward a fence rail with concealed fastener. The fence railincludes a detachable fastener cover that covers and conceals a fastenerchamber. Through the use of a knuckle and a catch fastening system,moisture is prevented from entering the fastener chamber. The fastenerchamber allows for securing pickets to the rail using a means forfastening as close to the top of the rail as possible thereby allowingfor significant racking of the fence.

Fences have been around for thousands of years. From delineatingownership of land to corralling animals, fences play an important rolein everyday life. Because of the large demand for fences, there is agreat need for versatile fencing materials that produce aestheticallypleasing fences. Construction of the fence should occur quickly and atminimal cost.

To this end, the prior art teaches fences made of extrudable material,such as aluminum. The materials are cheap and the parts of the fence canbe manufactured with little cost. In one embodiment, a fence is createdusing posts, two or more rails, and a plurality of pickets. The postsare vertically secured to the ground, and the rails are horizontallysecured between the posts. The pickets are then vertically secured tothe one or more rails. In fence applications where the underlying groundis not level, the rails may be at an angle between posts, whereby thefence is racked as a parallelogram with the pickets remaining parallelwith the posts.

There are, however, significant deficiencies in the prior artdisclosures. Known designs have exposed fasteners on one side of therail, an internal clip, a structurally fastened member inside of therail, or a two or three sided top cover that snaps over the entire rail.These designs are unsightly, expensive to manufacture, expensive toconstruct, tend to rattle in the wind, susceptible to environmentalelements, and/or not suitable for a variety of terrains.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,635,115 to Lehmann teaches a fence railassembly comprising an extruded rail having a lengthwise slot forreceiving a plurality of fasteners for attaching the rail to a pluralityof pickets. While the fastener that secures the picket to the rail ishidden, the fastener is secured to the middle of the rail thereforemaking it unsuitable for a variety of terrains, and is susceptible toenvironmental elements, such as rain and dust.

Other known fences or railings either have exposed fasteners that mustface your home or your neighbor, or have a concealed fastener thatcauses rattle in the wind and prohibits the panels from being racked tosteep hillsides. Racking a fence is where the rails substantially followthe slope of the terrain while the pickets and posts remain vertical.There are also other designs that rely on a clip or sliding member tohold the picket inside the rail. These designs may use a wire or rodthat rides inside a channel formed into the extrusion. In these designs,the punch through the top of the rail is the only member keeping thepicket from sliding freely on the rail. Relying on the punch to keep thepicket from sliding causes the panel to bind up when attempting to racksteep hillsides as well as rattle in the wind. Some existing concealedfastener designs also use a non-replaceable captive rubber gasket toinhibit rattle. However, these gaskets are exposed to the weather andwear out with time, which causes future rattle. Existing concealedfastener designs also use a multi-channel design, which increases costof production.

Thus there has existed a long-felt need for a fence rail with concealedfastener that is aesthetically pleasing. It should be inexpensive tomanufacture and construct. The rails and pickets must allow for rackingto track over uneven terrain, such as steep inclines. Further the fencerail with concealed faster should securely fasten the picket to therail, thereby limiting rattle, as well as withstand variableenvironmental elements to render a reliable produce with a long usablelife.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention provides just such a solution by having a fencerail that includes a detachable fastener cover that covers and concealsa fastener chamber. Through the use of a knuckle and a catch fasteningsystem, moisture is prevented from entering the fastener chamber. Thefastener chamber allows for securing pickets to the rail using a meansfor fastening as close to the top of the rail as possible therebyallowing for significant racking of the fence.

The current invention relates to the solidity of using fasteners, andplaces a single sided snap cover (detachable fastener cover) over thosefasteners to conceal them from view. The pivot knuckle design on thedetachable fastener cover, with a dual plane snap for securely snappingon this cover. The knuckle provides for a drip edge for proper watershed, which prohibits water from wicking back into the fastenercompartment.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a fence rail withconcealed fasteners.

It is another object of the invention to provide a fence rail wheremoisture is prevented from entering the fastener chamber.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a fence rail with ameans of fastening that is close to the top of the rail thereby allowingfor significant racking of the fence.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a fence that isrelatively inexpensive to manufacture.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a fence that isrelatively easy to construct.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a fencing system thatallows for a large number of profiles to be created from a minimumnumber of unique parts.

It is a final object of the invention to provide a fence that has asingle part for concealing fasteners to simplify manufacturing andconstruction.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofmay be better understood, and in order that the present contribution tothe art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of theinvention that will be described hereinafter and which will form thesubject matter of the claims appended hereto. The features listed hereinand other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention willbecome better understood with reference to the following description andappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthis specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and togetherwith the description, serve to explain the principles of this invention.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a portion of a fenceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a header rail or stringer railaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 3 is a close-up cross-sectional view of a fastener cover accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a stringer rail and pickets in differentconfigurations illustrating differences between existing designs and thecurrent invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fastener cover being secured to aheader rail according to an exemplary embodiment of the currentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a fastener cover being secured to astringer rail according to an exemplary embodiment of the currentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a racked fence according to an exemplaryembodiment of the current invention showing pickets fastened near thetop of a rail.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a racked fence showing pickets fastenednear the middle of a rail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with thereferences made to the drawings below. The components in the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale. Instead, emphasis is placed uponclearly illustrating the components of the present invention. Moreover,like reference numerals designate corresponding parts through theseveral views in the drawings.

In one contemplated embodiment of the current invention, a single sidedconcealed fastener design allows for extreme racking of up to a 22degree angle to the ground. Until now, such extreme racking could onlybe achieved by the prior art through the use of extra wide stamping ofexisting stringers. The single side concealed fastener according to thecurrent invention also eliminates rattle and is more cost effective.

FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a portion of a fenceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the current invention. The fencehas a header rail 1 and two stringer rails 2, both of which aretypically manufactured through an extrusion process through a die andthen cut to length. The rails are preferably made from aluminum, butcould be made from steel or other materials including composite alloysand composite fiber based products. The fence may be designed for thepurpose of dividing properties or limiting human or animal access tocertain locations. The contemplated fence is intended to allow fasteningof pickets 6 through one or more stringer rails 2 and a header rail 1using a plurality of fasteners 3. The rails carry the vertical load ofthe fence and any additional load being applied between posts 5. Thelength of the rails is preferably about six feet long, but can be longeror shorter in length depending upon specific applications. In anexemplary embodiment, the fence system uses two stringer rails and oneheader rail, though the use of only one stringer rail and one headerrail is also possible. In fact, the number of stringer and header railsmay vary considerably depending upon the structural and aestheticrequirements of the fence. For example, particular applications may usethree stringer rails and no header rails, or a plurality of stringerrails and a single header rail. The stringer rail 2 is normally punchedon the top to allow the passage of the picket 6 through the stringerrail 2, while the header rail 1 is not punched to allow the passage ofthe picket 6. Therefore, most applications of the fence according to thecurrent invention will include only a single header rail 1 with one ormore stringer rails 2 between two posts 5. The fastener cover 4, whichcan be cut in varying lengths, is a removable cover that secures to theheader rail 1 and stringer rail 2 by a snap action. The fastener cover 4can be cut longer than the distance between the posts such that thefastener cover 4 enters the posts 5 with the rail, or can be cut thesame as or shorter than the distance between the posts to allow foreasier service access.

In its simplest form, invention includes two pieces that snap togetherto effectively conceal the fastener and rail holes from view; a rail anda fastener cover, where the fasteners are used to secure pickets to therail and the fastener cover is used to cover the fasteners and screwholes. While screws are the most common type of fastener, other types offasteners may be used without departing from the scope of the currentinvention. For example, locking pins, spring loaded protrusions, andbolts can also be used to secure the pickets to the rails.

The contemplated fastener cover and rail work together as a unit toeffectively conceal the fasteners, which are considered unsightly bymost people. Rails can be pre-drilled to allow the homeowner orcontractor to mix and match picket and rail designs so as to easilyachieve different styles of fence. This one sided cover allows formodular design, while maintaining the solidarity of using fasteners inthe construction of the fence. One important aspect to this invention isthe one-sided fastener cover design. By applying the fastener cover toonly one side of the rail in a snap action design, the fastener covercan be easily removed for maintenance, repair, or modification to analternate configuration. This one-sided cover also eliminates theproblems associated with racking the fence. By using a railconfiguration with a fastener and a single sided fastener cover, thesliding action of the picket within the rail caused by using a clip orfastening rail is eliminated. The fastener effectively allows theproducer the ability to punch the picket hole wider for relief whenraking steep inclines. This two-piece configuration also has asignificant cost savings over existing clip or slide rail fastenerdesigns.

In operation, after the fasteners attach the rail to the pickets, theuser places the knuckle portion of the fastener cover into the rail lip.Then by squeezing the rail and fastener cover firmly together with hisor her hands, the fastener cover will snap onto the rail. To remove, auser can simply pull up on the open channel side of the fastener coverat the snap dimple and pull the cover off to access to the fasteners.Alternatively, it is contemplated that the fastener cover be pivotablyand detachably attached to the rails.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a header rail or stringer railaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the current invention. The topof the fastener cover 4 utilizes a knuckle 7 that allows the cover tosecurely attach under the rail lip 9 and prohibits moisture fromentering the fastener chamber 8 by drip edge design. The outside portionof the fastener cover should be finished such that it mimics the finishon the rail 1, 2. In fact, the outside portion of the fastener ispreferably indistinguishable from the opposite side of the rail 1, 2.The top portion of the fastener cover secured to a rail, designated byA, and the bottom portion of the fastener cover secured to a rail,designated by B, are more clearly shown in FIG. 3. The top of the headerrail 1 is preferably not punched. This prevents pickets from extendingthrough the header rail as well as providing a more aestheticallypleasing fence. However, the top of the stringer rail 2 preferablyincludes a punched portion to allow the pickets to extend therethrough.The rail can also include several openings to allow for screws to passtherethrough thereby enabling the picket to secure at various verticalpoints to the rail and allowing for multiple style configurations.

FIG. 3 is a close-up cross-sectional view of a fastener cover accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the current invention. Part A is the topportion while part B is the bottom portion. The fastener cover 4includes a knuckle 7 that mates with a rail lip 9 of a rail 1, 2. Theconfiguration of the knuckle/lip acts as to help secure the fastenercover to the rail as well as prevents the entrance of moisture, dirt, orother foreign objects into the screw chamber 8, also known as a fastenerchamber. The fastener cover also includes a snap dimple 12 that mateswith a snap divot 13 of the rail 1, 2. The rail includes a rib 10 thatmates with a rib 11 from the fastener cover. When the fastener cover 4is secured to the rail 1, 2, the mating of the ribs 10, 11 creates acompression point that allows the snap action to take place on parallelplanes between two perpendicular members at snap dimple 12 and snapdivot 13. In this fashion, a user can slide the knuckle 7 of thefastener cover into the rail lip and rotate the cover into place untilthe ribs 10, 11 meet and create a compression force, and then snap thesnap dimple 12 into the snap divot 13. The knuckle 7 and additionalperpendicular surfaces of the cover increase the rigidity of the coverand therefore result in reduce shipping costs when compared to existingcover designs. Rigid packaging is required to ship prior art covers,while the fastener cover according to the current invention can beshipping in semi-rigid packaging, such as cardboard, to reduce packagingand shipping costs.

In an alternative embodiment, the knuckle 7 and rail lip 9 are replacedwith a means of pivotally attaching the fastener cover to the rail. Forexample, the top of the fastener cover can coaxially attach around acylinder of the rail. This would allow the fastener cover to rotateabout the attachment point. It can be rotated to an open position toallow for access to the screw chamber, and snapped close using the ribs10,11, snap dimple 12, and snap divot 13.

In many circumstances a fence must traverse an incline, or be racked. Toachieve this, the pickets must extend up and through the stringer railsin a non-perpendicular fashion; in other words, the pickets must extendat an angle of less than 90 degrees through the rail.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a stringer rail and pickets in differentconfigurations. As described above, the stringer rail 2 includes a webportion on the top, but not the bottom. Thus, for the picket to extendthrough the stringer rail 2, the top web must be punched. When a fenceis racked, such as when it traverses an incline, the pickets are angledrelative to rails. However, the angling of the pickets relative to therail requires a larger punched hole in the web of the rail. Smallerpunched holes in the web of the rail are preferable. The smaller holesare more aesthetically pleasing and result in greater stability of therail and overall fence.

Pickets secured closer to the top of the rail require a smaller sizedhole through which to pass. The left side of FIG. 4 shows pickets 6secured to the middle of the stringer rail 2 using a fastener 3. Theright side of FIG. 4 shows pickets 6 secured to the top of the stringerrail 2 using a fastener 3. The angle 14 of the rotated pickets 6 isapproximately 25 degrees. The areas between dashed lines 15 and 16represent areas of the web that must be punched to allow the angledpickets to pass through. The distance between dashed lines 15 is greaterthan the distance between dashed lines 16. From this, it is shown thatpickets secured closer to the top of the rail require a smaller punchedhole through the top web than pickets secured further down the rail.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a fastener cover being secured to aheader rail according to an exemplary embodiment of the currentinvention. In this view, a picket 6 extends up into a header rail 1. Thepicket 6 is secured to the middle of the rail 1 by means of a fastener3, preferably a screw. After the picket is secured to the rail, afastener cover 4 is snapped over the rail 1.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a fastener cover being secured to astringer rail according to an exemplary embodiment of the currentinvention. In this view, a picket 6 extends up through a stringer rail2. The picket 6 is secured to the top of the stringer rail 2 to allowthe picket to rotate and the fence to rack up an incline. After thepicket is secured to the rail, a fastener cover 4 is snapped over therail 1.

FIGS. 7 and 8 compare the different fastening positions of the picketand rail. FIG. 8 shows pickets 6 fastened to the middle of the stringerrail 2 while FIG. 7 shows pickets 6 fastened near the top of thestringer rail 2. With openings in the top web of the stringer rail thatare roughly the same size, pickets fastened near the top of the stringerrail provide a much greater range of motion than pickets fastened at themiddle of the stringer rail. Specifically, FIG. 7 shows that picketssecured near the top of the stringer rail can rotate up to 22 degreesfrom the vertical without requiring wider stamping, while FIG. 8 showsthat pickets secured at the middle of the stringer rail can rotate onlyup to 6 degrees from the vertical without requiring additional stamping,even though the punched openings through which the pickets extend arethe same size.

It should be understood that while the preferred embodiments of theinvention are described in some detail herein, the present disclosure ismade by way of example only and that variations and changes thereto arepossible without departing from the subject matter coming within thescope of the following claims, and a reasonable equivalency thereof,which claims I regard as my invention.

All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyrightprotection under the copyright laws of the United States and othercountries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure,as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all othercopyright rights whatsoever are reserved.

1. A fence comprising a rail, where the rail comprises two sides and atop web, where one side comprises a lip, a rib, and a snapping member,where the rib has a top, and where the snapping member has a bottom; afastener cover, where the fastener cover comprises a knuckle, a rib, anda snapping member, where the rib has a bottom, and where the snappingmember has a top; where the top of the rib of the rail mates with thebottom of the rib of the fastener cover, where the bottom of thesnapping member of the rail mates with the top of the snapping member ofthe fastener cover; and where the lip of the rail mates with the knuckleof the fastener cover; whereby the mating of the ribs and the snappingmembers create compressive forces that increase rigidity of the fastenercover and rail.
 2. The fence of claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof pickets and a plurality of fasteners, where each picket is secured tothe top of the rail by means of the plurality of fasteners, where thefastener cover covers the fasteners that secure the pickets to the rail.3. The fence of claim 2, wherein the fasteners are screws.
 4. The fenceof claim 1, further comprising two posts, where each end of the rail issecured to a post.
 5. The fence of claim 1, wherein the snapping memberof the rail is a snap divot and the snapping member of the fastenercover is a snap dimple.
 6. The fence of claim 1, wherein the rib of thefastener cover is located between the knuckle and the snapping member ofthe fastener cover.
 7. A fence rail system comprising a rail, a picket,a fastener, and a fastener cover, where the rail comprises two sides anda top web, where one side comprises a lip, a rib, and a snapping member,where the snapping member has a bottom, where the fastener covercomprises a knuckle, a rib, and a snapping member, where the snappingmember of the fastener cover has a top, where the fastener cover mateswith the rail to form a fastener chamber, wherein the bottom of thesnapping member of the rail mates with the top of the snapping member ofthe fastener cover, and where the fastener secures the picket to the topof the rail.
 8. The fence rail system of claim 7, wherein the one sideof the rail has a bottom, where the snapping member is located at thebottom of the rail.
 9. The fence rail system of claim 7, wherein thesnapping member of the rail is a snap divot and the snapping member ofthe fastener cover is a snap dimple.
 10. The fence rail system of claim7, wherein the knuckle of the fastener cover mates with the lip of lipof the rail.
 11. The fence rail system of claim 7, where the rib of therail has a top, where the rib of the fastener has a bottom, wherein thebottom of the rib of the fastener cover mates with the top of the rib ofthe rail.
 12. The fence rail system of claim 7, wherein the knuckle ofthe fastener cover mates with the lip of the rail, where the rib of therail has a top, where the rib of the fastener has a bottom, wherein thebottom of the rib of the fastener cover mates with the top of the rib ofthe rail.
 13. The fence rail system of claim 7, wherein the fastenerextends into the fastener chamber.
 14. The fence rail system of claim 7,wherein the fastener is a screw.
 15. The fencer rail system of claim 7,wherein the web of the rail is punched with one or more holes.
 16. Afence comprising a plurality of rails, where each rail comprises twosides and a top web, where one side comprises a lip, a rib, and asnapping member, where the rib has a top, and where the snapping memberhas a bottom; a plurality of fastener covers, where each fastener covercomprises a knuckle, a rib, and a snapping member, where the rib has abottom, and where the snapping member has a top; where the top of therib of one of the plurality of rails mates with the bottom of the rib ofone of the plurality of fastener covers, where the bottom of thesnapping member of one of the plurality of rails mates with the top ofthe snapping member of one of the plurality of fastener covers; andwhere the lip of one of the plurality of rails mates with the knuckle ofone of the plurality of fastener covers; whereby the mating of the ribsand the snapping members create compressive forces that increaserigidity of the fastener covers and rails.
 17. The fence of claim 16,further comprising a plurality of pickets and a plurality of fasteners,where each picket is secured to the top of the rail by means of theplurality of fasteners, where the fastener cover covers the fastenersthat secure the pickets to the rail.
 18. The fence of claim 17, whereinthe fasteners are screws.
 19. The fence of claim 16, further comprisingtwo posts, where each end of each of the plurality of rails is securedto a post.
 20. The fence of claim 16, wherein the snapping member ofeach rail is a snap divot and the snapping member of each fastener coveris a snap dimple.